Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Alex da Silva Compo from "Last of the Summer Wine" obviously loved the East End and probably made friends with Chas 'n' Dave. That's why I saw them play at Holmfirth. It was where Summer Wine was filmed – the friendship link is complete. Compo is an East end gangster in this film. He's short in stature and makes an unconvincing tough guy. He would have been flattened in his fight scene at the beginning of the film. The same goes for his ex-army buddy, Richard Attenborough (Ted), Again, this short person would have been flattened in both his fight scenes. The fights are badly staged and very fake.There's a criminal gang running a dancehall and carrying out robberies and Dickie short-arse meddles in their affairs so he can get to the truth behind his pal Compo's demise. Guess what – he succeeds. Standard good guy v bad guy stuff. The most interesting moments of the film for me occur in the dancehall where Diana Dors hangs out. Singer and dancehall girl Judy Kelly (Toni) is the best of the cast. What is it with people cutting in on other men dancing with a girl by tapping them on the shoulder and stealing their girl away? No way! This would be disastrous and cause non-stop scuffling. I hear this was an American custom introduced in films. I can't believe this actually happened! Any info on this ludicrous concept would be greatly appreciated.

GusF This is a very enjoyable B-film noir which explores some of the darker aspects of life in postwar Britain. John Paddy Carstairs' direction is considerably better when it comes to the character scenes than in the limp and unconvincing fight scenes. It was produced by future Hammer stalwart Anthony Nelson Keys. The production company was Coronet Films Ltd. but I presume that it was not connected to the American company of the same name which made cult classic, incredibly judgemental social guidance short films for schools from the 1940s to the 1970s.The film stars Richard Attenborough in a great performance as Ted Peters, an at turns brave and foolhardy demobbed British Army soldier turned taxi driver who finds himself mixed up in the black market when his childhood friend and army buddy is murdered. In their first of three films together, his wife Sheila Sim is not as good as Ted's chorus girl fiancée Joy Goodall but she does the best that she can with the character, who doesn't have much personality beyond being sweet and innocent.The most interesting female character in the film is certainly the alcoholic dancer Toni, played very well by Judy Kelly. Credited under his real name Bill Rowbotham, Bill Owen is great as Ted's murdered friend Dave Robinson who was making a less than honest living on Civvy Street, as are Barry K. Barnes and Barry Jones as the black marketeers Paul Baker and E.J. Gregory. The film is also notable for featuring only the second film appearances of both Dirk Bogarde (whom Attenborough later cast "Oh! What a Lovely War" and "A Bridge Too Far") and Diana Dors, neither of whom are credited. While he has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance as a policeman towards the end of the film and his face is not even very clearly seen, she has a small supporting role as the dancer Annette and quite a bit of dialogue. She certainly looked far older than 15 at the time.

Igenlode Wordsmith This film sounded interesting from the subject matter, especially the dance-hall setting: and there is some good acting from the 'heavies', Barry K. Barnes as Paul Baker, the suave, good-looking and dangerous master of ceremonies, and Barry Jones as 'Mr Gregory', the mind behind the scenes. Unfortunately I didn't find the young hero and heroine particularly involving -- they are basically blank spots in the script marked "Generic Virtuous Character" -- and as the plot begins to be twisted in their favour with more and more incredulity-straining coincidences I found my tolerance decreasing. Diana Dors catches the eye in an unbilled (and for all that surprisingly prominent) part as one of the 'professional partners' at the dance hall, and various character actors do their reliable stuff. There are moments of genuine tension: but, alas, for me at least they always involved conflict between the villains rather than the endangerment of Our Heroes which was supposed to provide excitement. I'm afraid I got much more worried by Toni Masters' possible fate at the hands of a psychotic lorry-driver -- since she is a Bad Girl and therefore has some actual character conflict -- than by a punch-up involving Ted Peters, who is bound to win by some total fluke anyhow.The film looked promising at the start, but I failed to get involved and ended up feeling manipulated instead.

noir guy Brisk, efficient British post-War crime melodrama set in London - part of the 'Spiv' movie cycle(films with roots in 30s American Gangster movies, featuring characters profiting from wartime rationing in a similar fashion to 30s bootleggers, but not so clearly glamorised as their Stateside equivalents - see also the superior NOOSE). Richard Attenborough stars as former soldier, Ted Peters, now making a living as a London cab-driver who becomes involved with a criminal gang headed by dance hall owner and criminal mastermind Mr Gregory (the seriously undervalued Barry Jones), whose henchman and M.C. Paul Baker (Barry K. Barnes) has offed Ted's childhood friend and former army buddy Dave Robinson (Bill Rowbotham, better known to U.K. audiences as Bill Owen, star of long-running U.K. T.V comedy series LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE). At Ted's behest, his girlfriend Joy (Sheila Sim) gets a job as a dancehall hostess in Gregory's dance hall as part of Ted's attempts to expose the criminal gang and the true nature of the crime lord's enterprise is gradually exposed. Punchily directed by John Paddy Carstairs, and redolent with post-War atmosphere, this is another example of the type of popular genre fare which entertained U.K. audiences in the 40s at the same time as the now revered 'noir' movies similarly engaged their U.S. contemporaries. Deserving wider acclaim, the movies from this post-War U.K. genre are valid, and diverting, social documents which often gave early exposure to burgeoning talents (in this instance, an uncredited brunette Diana Dors and a 'blink and you'll miss him' Dirk Bogarde) and should, by rights, be as revered in their country of origin as the more celebrated and documented U.S. post-War crime movies. Worth checking out, if you get the chance.